Crocus Tip

Introducing Crocus

carrot 'Sweet Candle' F1

carrot

20% off Selected Vegetable Seeds

approx 300 seeds
£2.99
£2.39

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within 4 days (exc weekends)

Position: full sun

Soil: fertile, well drained and light

If you want to have the best carrots in the allotment, then these are the ones to grow. They produce uniformly cylindrical shaped roots, which have rounded tips and an exceptionally good flavour. They are high-yielding too!

Growing Instructions:Sow sparingly direct into shallow drills or over the surface of compost in containers, and cover lightly with soil. Protect early and late sowings with cloches or bring under cover. Thin seedlings gradually until they are 5cm apart, working in the evening when there are fewer carrot flies around. Harvest once roots reach 4-5cm diameter. Erect a 60cm-high screen of horticultural fleece around your veg beds to keep off carrot fly.

Jerusalem artichoke Fuseau

Jerusalem artichoke bulbs

beetroot 'Chioggia'

beetroot

Early, large round root with alternate white and red stripes on the inside.

£2.19

approx 600 seeds
within 4 days (exc weekends)

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You can start chitting your early and maincrop seed potatoes in February, but the best time to plant is in early to mid spring. As for growing vegetables in your polytunnels, you have lots of options. Spinach, kale, and some varieties of lettuce will live through the winter in a polytunnel. Certain kinds of onion work well from an autumn sowing, and you'll get a much earlier crop than if you'd waited until spring. Other possibilities are cabbage, Pak Choy, Chinese cabbage, and most root crops. Leeks, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips and radishes, can be sown for winter harvest

Answered on 10/5/2006 by Crocus

Q:

Am I too late to grow vegetables?

I'd love to grow my own potatoes, onions and carrots, which I use a lot in the kitchen, but don't know where to start or if I'm too late. Please can you advise me?

Now is the perfect time to start thinking about growing potatoes, as they need to be chitted before planting. Chitting just encourages shoots to grow before you pop them in the soil in early spring. The onion sets can be planted in March or April, while carrot seeds can be sown from late February as long as they are protected.

Answered on 1/25/2006 by Crocus

Q:

What veg can I grow with my runner beans?

Dad has grown runner beans on the same patch for years. Is it ok to grow leeks, kohlrabi, carrots and sprouts on this patch or even courgettes? I am trying to get a crop rotation underway but there is limited space.

The purpose of crop rotation is to reduce build-up of soil borne pests and diseases, and continuous cropping of the same vegetable can lead to an inbalance of soil nutrients. The plants you mention should be fine to grow in the same spot as the beans this year, but you will need to add plenty of organic matter to the area before planting and I wouldn't recommend growing the carrots or sprouts in the same spot next year. Even if the area is small, it really will help if you can try and work out a crop rotation to avoid problems in the future.

If you just want to grow a few vegetables or have suffered losses with early sowings, buying plants is a great way to play catch-up. Buying plants also allows you to grow vegetables if you do not have the facilities to raise them from seed yourself or whe

If you do nothing else...water new plants. Make sure new additions do not suffer during dry spells. Plant up summer containers bedding once the threat of frosts has passed. Feed container plants about six weeks after planting. If it’s a nice day...trim he

Once you start picking vegetables, such as runner beans and courgettes, keeping picking them regularly throughout the summer to ensure a continuous supply. Even the cropping period of French beans can be extended by harvesting regularly. Pick beans once a

Warming up your soil by cloching will help germination greatly, particularly when it comes to carrots, parsnips, parsley, spinach and beetroot. These seeds all need warm air temperatures of approximately 10C/50F before they even think of starting.

When sowing seeds, using a wider drill for your carrots, parsnips, spinach and beetroot allows your seedlings to spread, negating the need to thin them out. Thinning can sometimes attract pests so it is best avoided. When young carrots reach finger thickn